Sunday, November 10, 2024

Only Murders in the Building- Season 4

Grade: A

NOTE: There are no spoilers for this season, but this will include a significant spoiler from season 3 if you haven't seen it yet.

In season 4 of this popular Hulu show, true crime podcasters Charles-Haden Savage (played by Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) try to solve the murder of Charles' long-time stuntman and friend Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch). Meanwhile, a movie is being made of their first podcast.

This feels like a real step up from season 3, and that season was perfectly good. The various storylines and people the gang meet make for a diverting time, with the story taking you to some surprising places you might not expect. The writers are firing on all cylinders in terms of both story and jokes (episode seven is hands down the best one) and the show's focus on how people often don't really know other people may be at its strongest and most effective here.

I think most of us are sad to see Sazz die as she was a fun character who had been around since the beginning, but it was an effective move to kill her off. Though, she could get on Charles' nerves, you could tell she was his oldest, closest, and most loyal friend. A good portion of this is Charles dealing with the sorrow and anger of his friend's demise in his own difficulty-expressing-himself-way. (Martin does some of his best work with the character here). The season also allows us to really see (through flashbacks) into Sazz and her life more than the show ever did with her before. (I honestly feel this is the best performance I've ever seen Lynch do).

This season also involves the trio being portrayed in the movie and shadowed by Eugene Levy, Zach Galifiankis, and Eva Longoria. Having them interact with the leads is a lot of fun, and Galifiankis, who has an eccentric combativeness toward Oliver, and Eva, who is basically playing a parody of out-of-touch celebrities, are the real highlights.

Highly recommended. Honestly, this might be the second best season.

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